Technological developments permit digitization and compression of large amounts of voice, video, imaging, and data information. The need to transfer data between devices in wireless mobile radio communication requires transmission of a data stream in diverse and dynamic environments at a high data rate. Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) communication systems are extensively used for high data exchange between devices over short distances of no more than 10 meters. Current WPAN systems exploit the frequency band in the 2-7 GHz frequency band region and achieve throughputs of up to several hundred Mbps (for Ultra-WideBand systems).
The availability of 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum in the 60 GHz band and the progress in the RF IC semiconductor technologies are pushing the development of the mmWave WPAN and mmWave Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems which will operate in the 60 GHz band and will achieve the throughputs of about several Gbps. Currently a number of standardization groups (Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.3c, IEEE 802.11ad, Wireless HD SIG, ECMA TG20) are working on the development of the specifications for such mmWave WPAN and WLAN networks. The standards are developed mainly as addendums to the previous WPAN and WLAN standards with the introduction of new PHY layers and also are trying to reuse most of the MAC functionality. However, the modifications to the MAC layer are also required to exploit specific mmWave WPAN and WLAN characteristics.
A communication link operating at 60 GHz is less robust due to the inherent characteristics of high oxygen absorption and significant attenuation through obstructions. In order to satisfy the link budget requirement, directional antennas have been envisioned to be used in creating a mmWave communication link. For initial device discovery, association, and synchronization, the use of omni (or quasi-omni) beacons is typically required.